right before my eyes, we will see where we can go from here because there is no moving back in, this is all we had. this is everything i worked for. i think i have lost everything i own,, my family and i are safe and we will worry about all that other stuff later. according to nbc they have claimed vilest 34 laps in for the admirable are still unaccounted for, first responders are busy trying to reach those left stranded, stranded by the coast guard on santa belle island, cut off from the mainland. president biden but joining me from charleston, south carolina, but emily, what is the latest, what are you hearing? 70, behind me they sights and sounds, and you re very welcome probably here of cleanup efforts are playing out here in charleston, all along south carolina s coastline, after many trees like this one were knocked down by hurricane-force winds, sustained winds around 85 miles per hour, gusts topping 95 miles per hour, will it just uprooting hundreds of trays
we re going to take you to one of the hardest-hit areas where almost an entire island was decimated. and her rescue during the hurricane made headlines. a nurse desperately trying to get to work was caught in the rising floodwaters. thankfully a nearby reporter was there, saved her and saw her. and that is my guest tonight. good evening, i m erin burnett. out front tonight, ian s fury still remains an extremely dangerous storm making its way through the carolinas tonight. let me show you this powerful video showing a pier in north myrtle beach torn into pieces as the hurricane came ashore. the storm surge ripping through neighborhoods like the ones i m showing you here, leaving even more destruction of homes in its wake. even these homes built up on sticks. so many of them deeply damaged. and parts of charleston s historic downtown also underwater. and tonight there is still concern for life-threatening floods as the storm could dump up to 12 inches of rain as it moves no
in fort myers beach, it is even hard to bike through the destruction. the messages from residents there, if you can send help, we need it. sanibel and cap teva islands cut off from the main land, only accessible by boat or air after, as you know, ian destroyed this major bridge that connects them to the main land. many of the homes there are in pieces or completely washed away. the coast guard is now going door to door, still trying to rescue people. make sure you have a bag for your clothes, with i.d., cell phones, wallets. emergency officials will run barges to sanibel island to help with cleanup and recovery efforts there. but let s begin in south carolina, cnn s nick valencia is in myrtle beach. tell us what is happening around you right now. reporter: it is a little hard to hear because the wind is such a major factor, just in the last few minutes these gusts of wind have crept up to about 40 to 50 miles per hour. and, you know, the sustained wind is almost as bad. f
it s the top of the hour on cnn newsroom. i m alisyn camerota. hurricane ian just made landfall as a category 1 storm on the south carolina coast. it hit near georgetown, between myrtle beach and charleston, and just as it did in florida, it s bringing life-threatening storm surge and heavy rains. it currently has 85-mile-per-hour winds. the tide has been going up in myrtle beach by a foot an hour. look at some of these images on your screen right now of all of the flood waters in myrtle beach. in north myrtle beach, this pier collapsed during the storm. obviously, we ll see much more damage once the storm passes through this area, and then in florida, utter destruction after the west coast got hammered. at least 25 people are dead as of last count. officials warn, though, that that number will likely rise. some areas like ft. myers beach are still impassable at this hour. stores and homes there have been reduced to shells, even if they are still on their foundations. a loc
pushing heavy rain and wind into cities that are vulnerable with flooding. after the path wiped out florida s west coast leaving parts of the state swamped, draining vital resources, emergency rooms forced to turn away patients, in the state s costliest hurricane on record. plus, putin makes his land grab official, the biggest annexation and absorb in europe, as protesters here leave their mark vandalizing the russian consulate. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper, hurricane ian making his third landfall in south carolina after previously hitting florida and cuba earlier this week. residents of south carolina are looking southward no doubt at what happened in florida with dread. in the sunshine state, clean up beginning. ian decimated parts of fort myers beach, winds whipping hotels, restaurants, it s a similar scene on sanibel island, homes, hotels, docks, destroyed, littering the beaches with debris. listen to how president biden described the destruction earlier today